The Night I Left, He Turned Grey

Leila Jennings glanced toward Nathaniel Cole’s office, knowing her resignation process was most likely stalled with him.

She turned and went inside.

Zachary opened his mouth to call out to her, but he was too late.

"President Cole." Leila Jennings stood ramrod straight in front of Nathaniel Cole, conveniently blocking the view of the gossiping trio outside.

"I’d like to ask where things stand with my resignation. How much longer until I can officially leave?"

Nathaniel Cole looked up. "What for? So you can resign and go back to being a housewife?"

"Absolutely not." The two words were spoken with resounding finality.

First, it was Sean Sinclair trying every which way to keep her trapped by his side as a housewife. Now, it was Nathaniel Cole stalling her resignation and refusing to let her go. Both were acting completely against her will.

Leila Jennings felt a heavy weight in her chest, as if a boulder were lodged there. She retorted, "Whether or not I become a housewife is none of your concern, President Cole. I simply want to resign within the standard one-month notice period."

Her voice was calm and measured, carrying the detached tone one would use with a stranger.

Nathaniel Cole didn’t like that tone. His sharp brows furrowed slightly.

"You’re set on resigning?"

"Yes."

Meeting Leila Jennings’s resolute gaze, Nathaniel Cole scoffed. "And what if I decide to refuse?"

"There’s no such thing as a job you can’t quit. The moment I submit my resignation, the one-month clock starts ticking. When it’s up, I can walk away." Leila Jennings met the man’s deep, dark gaze. "President Cole, my continued employment here brings no benefit to The Cole Group."

The leader of the proprietary chip project is the secretary to the president of The Cole Group. If The Cole Group doesn’t win the bid, it’s no big deal. But if it does, it will definitely trigger an investigation.

Nathaniel Cole knew her background was mysterious, but he hadn’t managed to uncover anything by keeping her at his side.

He retracted his scrutinizing gaze. "Is President Sinclair threatening me?"

"Then let him try."

Leila Jennings took a deep breath. She felt the man before her was being a shameless rogue.

’Whether Nathaniel Cole agrees or not is irrelevant. When the time is up, I’m leaving on my own.’

"President Cole, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave." She turned to go.

"Stop." Nathaniel Cole called out, stopping her. He pulled a bid invitation from a drawer and tossed it onto the desk, gesturing for her to look.

Leila Jennings knew what it was with a single glance; she had already seen it with her own eyes.

She didn’t move.

"The proprietary chip project was originally spearheaded by Mr. Thorne. Now that it’s been developed, don’t you want to participate in your mentor’s project? It’s in your field of expertise, after all." Nathaniel Cole’s voice paused for a moment before he continued, "If you think the position of secretary isn’t enough, I can give you special approval to transfer to Lantech’s R&D center."

An R&D center at a tech company held no appeal for Leila Jennings. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"I’m not going."

"..." Nathaniel Cole felt as if Lantech, the company he had founded, was being scorned.

He tried to entice her. "Lantech’s R&D center has the second-largest laboratory in all of City A and the finest experimental equipment."

The largest laboratory was the very research institute where Leila Jennings worked.

Her answer was the same. "I’m not going."

Nathaniel Cole: "..."

"Cherry Cole will be joining Lantech’s R&D center after she graduates next year." He resorted to bringing up his sister.

Leila’s gaze flickered.

Thinking he had an opening, he asked in a level voice, "How about it?"

"That’s great," Leila Jennings said, analyzing the situation earnestly. "Cherry can use Lantech as a stepping stone. Once she has some achievements under her belt, she can have Elder Alden recommend her to the research institute."

’Of course, I could also make the recommendation,’ she thought.

’But since we aren’t in the same field of research, my recommendation wouldn’t be of much help to Cherry Cole.’

Nathaniel Cole slowly let out a frustrated breath and bit out two cold words: "Get out."

"Yes, President Cole." Leila Jennings turned crisply, walked out, and pulled the door shut.

Her movements were seamless.

Nathaniel Cole’s knuckles CRACKED.

「...」

When Sean Sinclair received the bid invitation, he was beaming. He immediately called a meeting, established a project team with himself at the helm, and laid out the next steps. He also presented the proposal and bid documents that he had already been preparing for some time.

Everyone praised his foresight.

Chairman Forrester was particularly full of praise for him. As he left, he made a point of patting Sean’s shoulder in front of all the senior executives.

"I knew I wasn’t wrong about you, Sean Sinclair. If we win this bid, you’ll get a stake not only in Stellaxis, but in Forrester as well."

Sean Sinclair’s pupils trembled. An immense wave of joy crashed over him, and he nearly forgot how to breathe.

"Chairman, I will do my absolute best."

"I have high hopes for you, young man."

As soon as Chairman Forrester left, the senior executives flocked over to offer their congratulations. Sean Sinclair smiled politely, his heart set on victory.

Once the crowd dispersed, he excitedly pulled out his phone to share the good news. The first face that flashed through his mind was Leila Jennings’s, but he quickly shook his head.

’Leila wouldn’t understand,’ he thought. ’If I told her, she’d just say something bland like, ’Not bad.’’

Sean Sinclair called Sarah Lynch instead.

Over the phone, Sarah Lynch’s voice was full of excitement. "Sean, I knew you could do it! If there’s anything at all you need my help with, I’m here for you."

"Sarah, I don’t want to put you in a difficult position. You can leave the rest to me."

"Okay." Sarah Lynch asked, "Have you told your family yet, Sean? This is fantastic news. If you win this bid, you’ll have a much brighter future ahead of you."

"You’re the first person I told. I’ll tell them in a little while."

"Why don’t I tell Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair for you? You should focus on work. The timeline for this bid is pretty tight, isn’t it?" Having signed a confidentiality agreement, Sarah Lynch couldn’t be too direct and had to phrase it carefully.

Sean Sinclair smiled. "It’s short. I’d better get back to work."

"Okay." Sarah Lynch hung up and immediately dialed the Sinclair family to share the good news.

"Sean is just too busy, so he asked me to tell you. I was thinking, how about we celebrate for him tonight? I’ll book the restaurant."

Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair were overjoyed, praising Sarah Lynch for being so sweet and considerate.

Finally, Sarah Lynch asked tentatively, "What about Leila Jennings? Should we invite her, too?"

"Why bring her up? She wouldn’t come anyway," Mrs. Sinclair immediately shot down the idea.

’They’ve already signed the divorce papers, so why on earth would she come?’ she thought.

’If only they didn’t have to wait for some cooling-off period,’ she fumed silently. ’My son could divorce Leila Jennings at once and marry Sarah Lynch right away.’

Sarah Lynch booked the restaurant and sent the location to them. Sean Sinclair also got the message: a celebration dinner tonight at Eden Restaurant.

Eden Restaurant had just recently opened.

Cherry Cole had also been called over by her mother.

"My beautiful, kind, gentle, and generous mother, shouldn’t you be coming to a restaurant like this with Dad? If Dad finds out you only brought me and not him, he’ll get mad! And when he gets mad, he’ll cut off your daughter’s allowance!"

"You can’t fully enjoy a meal at a beautiful restaurant when you come with a man. You have to be all prim and proper. No, I’d rather not invite your father," Ms. Neville said with a gentle smile. "Besides, your Miss Ellie opened Eden. We’re here to show our support."

"Show support, huh? In that case, can I invite someone else?" As Cherry Cole spoke, she was already pulling out her phone. Ms. Neville glanced over and saw the contact name displayed on the screen: the two words "Beautiful Sister."

"Is that Leila Jennings?"

"Huh? Mom, how did you know?"

"You generally only call her type ’beautiful.’ The sweet-looking girls you call ’cute,’ and the dazzling ones you say are like ’a flower.’"

Cherry Cole grinned. "Mom, why don’t we swing by The Cole Group and pick up Leila Jennings on our way?"